BTB: Southern Style Sweet Tea

In the south, tea is in a category all it’s own.  You’ve got sports drinks, soft drinks, lemonade, coffee and tea.  But not just the hot tea.  There is iced tea.  Tea that is served in a tall glass that is so full of ice that it’s peaking over the rim of the glass.

Then there is the infamous sweet tea, the elixir of the south.  Growing up sweet tea in the fridge was a staple.  I always remember going to my best friend’s house and there always being sweet tea on hand and some being made for standby.  But this wasn’t tea with a touch of sugar or Sweet-N-Low, this tea was made with probably about a cup of sugar, at least.  And it wasn’t just a typical, normal sized pitcher, this was a large pitcher like the size you’d see in the church pantry.  To say that we were dependent on sweet tea would be an understatement, sweet tea was a necessity to make it through the day!  I’m pretty sure I could walk in her house today and still see the same giant, pale blue pitcher in her fridge and it would be filled with the sweet goodness.

I’ve grown up on the stuff and I’m just as addicted today as I was growing up.  But, growing up on my second mom’s sweet tea spoiled me…bad.  Her tea is the perfect balance of tea and sugar.  There’s not just enough tea in there to color the water, it’s a strong tea taste that is very evident.  Then there’s the sugar, the sweet stuff that dreams are made of.  Or in this case, that sweet tea is made of.  There is enough sugar in there to obviously sweeten the tea, but to also cut through some of that strong tea flavor.  The only thing that makes it better is pouring it in a tall glass filled with ice.

I know you’re probably looking at the title thinking “I don’t really need a recipe for sweet tea”.  And the truth is, you probably don’t.  But I wanted to share with you what I think is hands down the best tea ever, southern style sweet tea.  It’s the perfect balance of boldly brewed tea that is sweetened with the perfect amount of sugar.  Just the right amount where it’s sweet enough to balance the strong tea flavor but not so sweet where you could actually stand a spoon up in the center of the pitcher because of all the sugar.  To me, that is the epitome of the perfect glass of sweet tea.

So what are you waiting for?  Whip up a batch of this sweet tea, invite some friends over and enjoy a glass or two while sitting out back and enjoying the summer sun!

BTB: Southern Style Sweet Tea

Ingredients:


4 Cups water
1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
2 Large tea bags

Directions:


Place water and sugar in a large saucepan and place over medium-low heat.  Heat water and sugar, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, place tea bags in water and allow to steep for at least 10 minutes, longer if you want a stronger tea.

Pour tea in a pitcher, place in the refrigerator and allow to chill.  Serve over ice with a slice or two of lemon.

Recipe source: A Lynsey Original